Drinking and other habits.

My European lifestyle helped me to adopt the following habits, for better or worse.

* Wine.

* Tea.

* Coffee (well, good cappuccino or coffee with milk at a ratio of 1:5, but we're working on it).

My liquid intake is still largely made up of water, but it now also includes those things, which I rarely (and in coffee's case, practically never) included at home. But now probably will.

In addition:

* Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day at lunch. It was born out of necessity, as my other option was meat and cheese every day at lunch, and that I definitely don't like. I've always liked PB&J. I still do. I just don't really want to eat another one for a long, long time.

* Television. Throughout my life, I haven't watched very much. At home before I left, my only real television craving was Reno 911! and the occasional Will & Grace. Indeed, the first two weeks I got here I didn't even turn on the television in my room -- it just never occurred to me to do so. Then, one night, lying there sick and bored out of my mind, I thought, "Ah, television, it will help me learn Dutch." So I turned it on, and found that it was made of approximately 90% English shows. But I kept at it, and gradually grew to love Grey's Anatomy, Law and Order, CSI: New York, America's Next Top Model, and any movie of the week they want to offer up. Luckily, as an actor and continual student of theatre, I get to call such habits "research." I still feel somewhat guilty, though, because it wastes a lot of time. This is one habit that's going to go. Except for maybe Grey's Anatomy.

* Boring workouts. I don't even know how that happened. I just want a gym, for heaven sake. And that I will have, so very soon, and my workouts will be boring no longer.

* Nice dinners. I used to more or less hate restaurants, because I hated to spend a great deal of money on food that was usually just so-so. I would always order soup. I liked it, and it was cheap. Not anymore. I'm really starting to appreciate good food. I admire stylish presentation. I delight in lingering at the table for as long as we want, without having to worry about the waiter trying to rush us out. I also delight in cooking nice dinners. After making pasta about 200 times for picky kids, it feels good to make something that includes actual spices and doesn't involve a noodle.

* Staying in. It's not unusual for a friend to have to talk me into getting out of my pajamas and joining them at the bar, but I would usually do it. Of course, the bar was in walking distance, or I could drive myself if I wasn't planning to drink. Here, if I'm not in Tilburg with Ruud, the bar is several miles away, and the trip home almost always involved a taxi. Plus, we never even went out until 11:00 pm or so. By then, if I'm not going out, I'm in bed. So I grew accustomed to going to bed early, even more so than I used to. Friends, help me.

* Flossing. I'm not sure where that one came from, as I've been anti-floss (it totally disgusts me) for as long as I can remember. But one evening, about two weeks ago, I pulled a strand from the little container and began what I can only call a flossing habit. My dentist will be so proud.